WANDERLUST IN JAPAN
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while in Japan at a Hiroshima Carp baseball game. Be sure to stick around ‘till the 7th inning for the traditional balloon release!
Hit the epic slopes of Japan! There are several local ski resorts as well as the world renowned resorts of Nagano and Hokkaido.
Surf at Hamada Beach. Save yourself the
GET OUT!
drive and let Outdoor Recreation take you!
Experience Japan’s National Sport of Sumo during their tournament season.
Take a bike ride through the lotus fields surrounding Iwakuni. tage of the excellent gym facilities.
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T HINGS T O-D O
Go whitewater rafting down Yoshino River.
Get fit while in Iwakuni by taking advan-
WHILE STATIONED IN
M CAS IWAKU N I
Enjoy an unforgettable meal at Sanzoku, or better known as the Chicken Shack.
Grill your meat to perfection at a yakiniku restaurant.
Sample Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at Okonomi-mura (“Okonomiyaki Village”) in Hiroshima.
Enjoy fresh sushi at a sushi-go-round. Grab lunch at a 7-Eleven Store. The options will amaze you!
Go to a food festival and eat something you never thought you would try!
Sample oysters, a local specialty, at one of the many oyster festivals held each winter. There are numerous ways to enjoy them from fried to grilled. Miyajima’s oyster festival is one of the largest.
Sample tasty pastries at Andersen Bakery near the Iwakuni train station or head to Hiroshima for the main Andersen store with a large bakery and restaurant (Hondori Street).
Slurp a big bowl of noodles! Splurge on a lunch at the Italian restaurant ZIZO. Enjoy your lunch while sitting on the patio overlooking the water.
Sample Iwakuni-style sushi. Taste fresh mikans (mandarin oranges) from Oshima Island.
Eat kobe beef in Kobe. Try all things lotus (root)! Iwakuni lotus root is unique and can be found in a variety of dishes from curry, chips, tempura, ice cream and more. Better yet, learn to cook it yourself at a cooking class offered by Cultural Adaptation.
Japan has over 80+ different types of Kit Kats! Sample as many as you can find. (Tip: some flavors may be regional and/or seasonal.)
Enjoy ice cream on a hot summer day by the Kintai Bridge.
¥100 store.
Head to Hiroshima to view the A-Bomb Building and tour its Peace Memorial Museum and Park.
Schedule a tour of the Emperor’s Palace while in Tokyo. Or you can enjoy the palace gardens for free!
Sharpen your Japanese by attending Cultural Adaptation’s free Survival Japanese 4-Day Class.
Experience old world Japan in the city of Kyoto. Shrines, temples, traditional cuisine, Golden Pavilion, Gion District and more!
Explore an actual Japanese submarine at the JMSDF Museum in Kure.
Purchase a traditional yukata/jimbe and wear it to a summer festival.
See an impressive Inari shrine, a Catholic church and koi fish swimming along the street canals of Tsuwano.
Get a picture with a Harajuku girl and
Pavilion in Kyoto.
Achieve enlightenment by fitting
Climb the Tokyo Tower.
through a hole in the pillar at the Daibutsu-den, or Big Buddha, in Nara.
Visit the Tokyo Sky Tree. Stay at New Sanno hotel in Tokyo and experience American comfort in Japan’s largest city!
Experience the thrills of Hollywood in Japan at Universal Studios Osaka!
Check out one of Japan’s numerous summer music festivals. Some of the largest are Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic.
NATURE
sushi at The Shimonoseki market.
Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo and then shop in the numerous stalls lining the streets to the shrine.
Get a picture in front of the Golden
ENTERTAINMENT
FOOD
Live dangerously and try fugu (blowfish)
Rub the incense smoke over you at the
then head into the peaceful Yogi Park and Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.
FINDING YOURSELF BORED & RESTLESS? Here are 101 activities to get your mind, body and soul rejuvenated and charged! Check off each activity as you eat, travel and play your way around Japan
Fresta Mall.
Explore the vast assortment of items at
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL
SPORTS
Experience “America’s favorite pastime”
There are many advantages of being stationed overseas. It is up to you to make the most of it. Let MCCS help you make Iwakuni feel like home. Whether your interests are in learning and understanding the local culture, food and entertainment, advancing your education or fitness and health—Marine Corps Community Services is here for you.
SHOPPING
PERSPECTIVE
#1 REASON: Have a positive attitude.
Enjoy dining and shopping options at
Conquer Japan’s highest peak, Mt. Fuji. Stroll among the beautifully colored autumn leaves on the Sandankyo hike.
Beat the heat with a day at Yuu Beach. Throw a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party with your friends in the spring.
Enjoy the Kintai bridge and park during one of its festivals. Some of the annual events are lantern festival and fireworks festival.
Ride the trains every chance you get! Japan has a very efficient train system. Nervous about the ride? Learn the ropes with IRR’s Venture Out tours.
Soak in the famous Beppu Onsen.
Watch a taiko drum performance.
Karaoke with friends!
Conquer the Three Peaks hike!
Head to the Iwakuni Castle on January
Handfeed a koi (carp) fish at Asa Zoo.
Beat the heat by hiking Seven Falls and
Have your picture taken with a lion cub at Safari Land.
Have your picture taken at a mini photo booth.
Visit the Yamaguchi flea market and see what treasure you can find!
Hold a rhinoceros beetle at the Insectarium in Hiroshima.
Have your picture taken with Kitty-Chan (Hello Kitty) at Harmony Land.
Ride a rollercoaster at Space World. Get in the holiday spirit at the Bihoku Christmas Illumination.
cooling off in the water!
Check out the quaint Yanai Flower Park. Bike through the tulip fields at Huis Ten Bosch in Kyushu during their annual Tulip Festival.
Take photos of the lotus flowers when they’re in full bloom. (Tip: morning time is best)
Explore another island of Japan. There are the larger islands of Shikoku, Kyushu and Hokkaido, or head to the one of the several small unique islands scattered through the Seto Inland Sea.
Go dolphin watching in Kyushu.
Go to an auto race. (JGTC, rally, drift, etc.)
Floating down the Nishiki River.
Travel to another country in Asia. The
Drive to Oshima Island. Enjoy the hidden
options are endless, let Academy Travel help you out.
Head to Osaka for the weekend. Don’t miss the aquarium!
Ferry from Yanai to Matsuyama City on Shikoku Island.
Take a ITT tour or drive yourself to Akiyoshido Cave and Safari.
Visit one of many aquariums within this
beaches, great camping, museum, fresh mikans (mandarin oranges) and more!
Japan has great outdoor opportunities!
Catch a Space-A flight to Okinawa and experience another Japanese island.
lodge.
Watch a traditional Kabuki performance at the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima.
Take a boat ride and learn about the ancient art of cormorant fishing at the Kintai bridge area.
Experience a Japanese fertility festival. Learn to use chopsticks. Make an origami crane and give it to a Japanese friend.
Get your hands dirty (not really) with the Japanese flower art of ikebana.
called ryokan. Some famous ones are in Miyajima, Kyoto or Hakone lake region.
Autumn is especially beautiful with the changing leaves but winter and spring offer great views over the Seto Inland Sea.
Go snorkeling near Susa on a camping weekend getaway.
Enjoy stunning views of the Seto Inland
fresh seafood and purchase some of their famous Hagi-yaki pottery.
Stay overnight at a Buddhist Monk
Hike Miyajima’s Mt. Misen each season.
See several hundred thousand people on
Explore the coastal town of Hagi. Enjoy
ceremony.
Learn to write your name in katakana.
Go camping with friends at Yasaka Dam.
Start your own business!
Participate in a traditional tea
Go on your own or sign up for an Outdoor Recreation trip.
area. There’s the Shimonoseki Aquarium, AQUAS and the newly opened Miyajima Aquarium. MCAS Iwakuni for the annual Friendship Day event.
1st and take part in the Japanese tradition of watching the sun rise from a mountain on the first day of the new year.
Sea by biking the Shimanami Kaido. This 70km bike route links the main island of Honshu to Shikoku via six islands and bridges.
Experience large snow sculptures at Sapporo Snow Festival ITT has a yearly trip.
Soak away your tension at an onsen (Japanese hot spring bath).
Stay at a traditional Japanese inn
Enjoy the festivities of Yanai’s Goldfish Lantern Festival on August 13. You can even purchase a goldfish lantern as a souvenir!
Learn to make momiji manju (stuffed maple leaf cakes) at the Miyajima Cultural Center. Reservation is required.
Spend a day exploring Miyajima Island with its famous floating torii, shrine, roaming deer, momiji manju cakes and much more!
Plant rice in the spring and harvest it in the fall. (Tip: Cultural Adaptation/ Youth Cultural Adaptation programs offer this trip each year)
WHICH
ARE
YOU?
GET OUT AND HAVE FUN
ADV
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U RE R
E YOU
AN
MCCS HAS A MYRIAD OF DEPARTMENTS TO HELP YOU ASSIMILATE TO JAPANESE CULTURE. TRANSITION COMFORTABLY WITH THESE FAMILIAR ACTIVITIES.
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CRAVING SOMETHING DIFFERENT? MOMIJI
A RE
A RE
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LOCAL FLAVOR
US VO
U NE R YO
A FO OD
U YO
AMERICAN COMFORTS
BLOWFISH SHIMONOSEKI
MIYAJIMA
SHOPPING HIROSHIMA
CULTURAL
FITNESS & SPORTS
NATURE 7/ELEVEN
OKONOMIYAKI
GET FIT
DAISO ON A BUDGET? THE POPULAR ¥100 STORE IS GREAT FOR PURCHASING JAPANESE TCHOTCHKES FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS BACK HOME.
HIKING
IRONWORKS GYM
WEEKEND TRIP IWAKUNI IWAKUNI ZUSHI
KINTAI ICE CREAM
YES
NO
BASEBALL KOBE
OSAKA
BEEF
AQUARIUM
IWAKUNI-ZUSHI: INSTEAD OF HAND-MOLDING THE SUSHI,THE CHEF PLACES THE LAYERED INGREDIENTS INTO A LARGE WOODEN MOLD AND STEPS ON THE MOLD’S LID TO FORM THE SHAPE WITH HIS/HER OWN BODY WEIGHT. THE SUSHI IS TRADITIONALLY TOPPED WITH PICKLED JAPANESE MACKEREL, SHIITAKE MUSHROOM, THINLY SLICED EGG AND IWAKUNI’S FAMOUS LOTUS ROOT.
SKIING & SNOWBOARDING
ENJOY AMERICA’S PASTIME IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN. BE SURE TO STICK AROUND TILL THE 7TH INNING FOR A FUN SPECTATOR TRADITION.
7 FALLS & 3 PEAKS
CYCLING OVERNIGHTER DO YOU ENJOY PHOTOGRAPHY? Share your pictures from your Japanese adventures and have them published in an upcoming Preview Magazine!
NAGANO
LOCAL
NO
ONSEN ONSEN LITERALLY MEANS HOT-SPRING, AND COMES IN MANY TYPES AND SHAPES. TRADITIONALLY, ONSENS WERE LOCATED OUTDOORS, ALTHOUGH A LARGE NUMBER OF INNS HAVE NOW BUILT INDOOR BATHING FACILITIES. ONSEN WATER IS BELIEVED TO HAVE HEALING POWERS DERIVED FROM ITS MINERAL CONTENT. A PARTICULAR ONSEN MAY FEATURE SEVERAL BATHING AREAS, EACH WITH WATER THAT HAS A DIFFERENT MINERAL COMPOSITION.
MEGAHIRA & GEIHOKU
Contact mccsiwakuni@gmail.com
MCCSIWAKUNI.COM
CULTURAL ADAPTATION INFORMATION, TOURS & TRAVEL (ITT) Crossroads Mall, Bldg 410 | 253-4377 Explore Japan with one of ITT’s many weekly trips led by a friendly and proficient tour guide. Additional services include booking accommodations. luggage delivery, camping & restaurant reservations just to name a few.
INFORMATION & REFERRAL (IR) Crossroads Mall, Bldg 410 | 253-4197 IR maintains a database of local information including sightseeing directions, travel maps, regional travel brochures, restaurants, shopping guides, and cultural events.
Bldg 411, Rm 101 | 253-6165/5900 This program assists with the transition into Japan by offering Survival Japanese, Japanese Culture and Cooking classes and trips. Youth Cultural Program provides cultural activities for both American and Japanese children and their families in the local community.
OUTDOOR RECREATION ACADEMY TRAVEL Crossroads Mall, Bldg 410 | 253-3764/3841 Academy Travel is here for all of your worldwide travel needs. The staff will help you with arranging travel and booking tickets.
IronWorks Gym | 253-3822 Sign up for fun and affordable trips with Outdoor Rec. Don’t have the supplies for an outdoor adventure? Check them out for FREE at Gear Issue. Located in IronWorks Gym.